Ford Options Illegal in California

[ridgebackpilot]

Today I spoke with Santa Maria Ford, who told me they're not "certified" to offer Ford Options financing. According to him, to get certified the dealership would have to invest in equipment and training for their staff.

He also told me that every single MME buyer has inquired about Options financing, but the dealership has yet to decide to offer it. Go figure?!

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[hybrid2bev]

Today I spoke with Santa Maria Ford, who told me they're not "certified" to offer Ford Options financing. According to him, to get certified the dealership would have to invest in equipment and training for their staff.

He also told me that every single MME buyer has inquired about Options financing, but the dealership has yet to decide to offer it. Go figure?!

Interesting. There's no special equipment or certification specifically required only for Ford Options. I'm guessing they don't do any eContracts (must only do paper contracts).

Takes about 5 minutes to read through the training materials.

 

[ARK]

This is total BS by the dealer, this law just sets out some ground rules for electronic transactions. Most states have more or less the same uniform laws on a bunch of mundane topics (intentionally created to make it simpler for businesses to work across the United States). This one here is just California's version of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.

When the internet manager says "electronic contracts are not allowed in California", I'd send him this California Civil Code section in response:

1633.7. (a) A record or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form.
(b) A contract may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because an electronic record was used in its formation.
(c) If a law requires a record to be in writing, an electronic record satisfies the law.
(d) If a law requires a signature, an electronic signature satisfies the law.
(Added by Stats. 1999, Ch. 428, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2000.)

 

[Logal727]

Takes about 5 minutes to read through the training materials.

Seems like a lot to ask

 

[HuntingPudel]

Interesting. There's no special equipment or certification specifically required only for Ford Options. I'm guessing they don't do any eContracts (must only do paper contracts).

Takes about 5 minutes to read through the training materials.

@ridgebackpilot I had my dealer’s first Options contract back in November. It took them 5 minutes on the phone to figure it out then hand me the stylus to start e-signing. According to my experience it’s not that hard. ?‍??

 

[AKgrampy]

Today I spoke with Santa Maria Ford, who told me they're not "certified" to offer Ford Options financing. According to him, to get certified the dealership would have to invest in equipment and training for their staff.

He also told me that every single MME buyer has inquired about Options financing, but the dealership has yet to decide to offer it. Go figure?!

They have to be certified to sell EV’S! Not use Ford Options! Maybe they do not finance thru Ford Credit but if they do then I believe their claim is bogus except maybe they need the program explained to them. The crazy thing is it is just a financing option.

 

[lonndog]

Worthington Ford, Long Beach

Worthington Ford?!?! Jeez, they've been around forever. If you've lived in SoCal for a long, long time (llke me), you 'd remember "Here's Cal Worthington and his dog Spot!" commercials, where Spot would be a giant hog or an alligator or elephant, and the "Go see Cal, Go See Cal, Go See Cal" theme would be playing in the background.

Just ridiculous that they're still acting they just fell off the turnip truck. But, check this out; makes sense:




So, you have to buy it from them, but will use San Diego dealers for service. If there was a way to transfer it, you should try to do it. Not sure where you'll be, but we worked out all the financing stuff -- with Ford Options -- with our sales guy last week (the car should be here very soon). Interest rates might change because that's what they're doing these days, but otherwise, everything is good to go.

 

[krazieboy]

ITS BS. i got ford options. why would ford put an incentive out in our zip codes if it's not allowed.

 

[devmach-e]

If the dealership doesn’t know about a financing program created over a year ago, specifically for this vehicle, I would be concerned about their ability to support this vehicle going forward. I would mention that to them, and ask them if they can recommend a local ford dealership that is EV rated so you can use them for service on your vehicle. Then see if they change their mind.

the reason they are jerking you around is that they either want you to walk away so they can ADM the hell outta that car, or they want to do a traditional lease, which would let them keep the tax credit.

The dealer doesn't get the tax credit on a lease. The leasing company gets the tax credit. I don't know of any dealership that has its own in-house leasing arm, but I suppose a large enough dealership might have the financial means to do so.

 

[ridgebackpilot]

Interesting. There's no special equipment or certification specifically required only for Ford Options. I'm guessing they don't do any eContracts (must only do paper contracts).

Takes about 5 minutes to read through the training materials.

I just spoke with the Finance Manager at Santa Maria Ford. He's very old-school and has been at the dealership for more than 30 years, including 25 as Finance Manager!

He told me Ford hasn't done financing programs before involving balloon payments, and the dealership has yet to develop the systems to handle that. It sounded like he was somewhat reluctant to try anything new.

However, he did say that lots of customers have been inquiring about the Ford Options program, so the dealership will probably have to figure out how to implement it sooner or later. I suggested he do that sooner so I can take advantage of that when my GT arrives in May!

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

@ridgebackpilot I had my dealer’s first Options contract back in November. It took them 5 minutes on the phone to figure it out then hand me the stylus to start e-signing. According to my experience it’s not that hard. ?‍??

as I mentioned in my car pickup thread 91 years ago (that I'm not going to link to on purpose because that's not the point), I had to wait a week because my dealer was completely thrown by Options despite being warned months in advance. But they got it figured out. It just needs the dealer to make an effort.

I just spoke with the Finance Manager at Santa Maria Ford. He's very old-school and has been at the dealership for more than 30 years, including 25 as Finance Manager!

He told me Ford hasn't done financing programs before involving balloon payments, and the dealership has yet to develop the systems to handle that. It sounded like he was somewhat reluctant to try anything new.

However, he did say that lots of customers have been inquiring about the Ford Options program, so the dealership will probably have to figure out how to implement it sooner or later. I suggested he do that sooner so I can take advantage of that when my GT arrives in May!

That's a bit of a lie since Ford Options has existed before, but as I understand it, it was limited enough that it's possible he had never seen it.

as our friend @hybrid2bev has explained, all the support is there on the Ford side, and as my dealer experience proved, any dealer can make it work, it's just that they might have to make an effort. I was lucky enough to have a dealer that was willing to, even if it took a stupidly long time.

 

[hybrid2bev]

as I mentioned in my car pickup thread 91 years ago (that I'm not going to link to on purpose because that's not the point), I had to wait a week because my dealer was completely thrown by Options despite being warned months in advance. But they got it figured out. It just needs the dealer to make an effort.


That's a bit of a lie since Ford Options has existed before, but as I understand it, it was limited enough that it's possible he had never seen it.

as our friend @hybrid2bev has explained, all the support is there on the Ford side, and as my dealer experience proved, any dealer can make it work, it's just that they might have to make an effort. I was lucky enough to have a dealer that was willing to, even if it took a stupidly long time.

And we tried with this dealer but Santa Maria Ford is a luddite. They simply refuse to do eContracting. If you want Ford Options do not order from Santa Maria Ford.

 

[mburtsvt]

It also sounds like they are trying to force you to use their own financing. If the dealer has a relationship with an existing bank the dealer will gets a kick-back from that bank for bringing a new customer to their financing. Generally it's the first payment. In some cases this could be as high as $1000.00. To get around this is to use the dealer financing, but refinance with a Credit union or other financing. If it's done within the first 3 payments - the dealer does not get the bonus.

 

[HuntingPudel]

<SNIP>
as our friend @hybrid2bev has explained, all the support is there on the Ford side, and as my dealer experience proved, any dealer can make it work, it's just that they might have to make an effort. I was lucky enough to have a dealer that was willing to, even if it took a stupidly long time.

Yep, same here. My dealer made the effort to make a phone call. Sad that some dealers won’t make the effort. ?

 

[Ghost Ryder]

I guess it's dealer dependent. Sucks that you have a crappy dealer.

I used South Bay ford by LAX for my GTPE. Got xplan, ford option, and no ADM. Honored price protection too. Easiest transaction ever. They ask if I wanted an extended warranty, but other than that, no other sales pitch. When I decline, they didn't push the issue.

I had an issue with the xplan. Since I ordered a 2021, but got a 2022 car, they didn't know how much to take off for the xplan. So they "lent" me my car for a week with dealer plates until they could figure it out. Came back a week later and signed the paper work.

Great dealership. Highly recommended.

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